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Damaskus : der Geschmack einer Stadt

Damascus, taste of a city

Seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling and hearing - if you join Rafiq Shami and his sister Marie Fadel on a stroll through their native Damascus, you will discover this Queen of the Orient with all your senses. Rafiq Shami, award-winning writer and master storyteller, describes the colourful scenes of the old town and relays the stories of its inhabitants overheard in the coffee houses. Reading his prose one seems to be able to smell the cardamom and the coriander sold in the spice market and hear the cries of street traders. Inspired by his stories, one can follow his sister Marie Fadel's recipes and recreate the tastes of the Orient.

Damascus : taste of a city

Damascus was Rafik Schami's home for 25 years before he went into exile, and he never forgot it. This 'Pearl of the Orient' is still the city he loves more than any other. Thirty years later, and now a prize-winning novelist, Schami leapt at the chance to write a culinary-cultural book on his former home town. There were, however, two seemingly insurmountable barriers - time and geography. So Schami's sister Marie wandered through Damascus for a year on his behalf, relaying curiosities, sounds, personalities, tastes and the smells of the Old City, while Schami wrote them down, relishing the diverse mark left on Damascene cuisine by its multifarious history. Rafik Schami is the acclaimed author of The Dark Side of Love.